Archive for July 2015
The Birth Of A Dividend Stock List
Even though I sold my dividend stocks and moved to a two-ETF solution earlier this year, I still believe that an investor with the right temperament and patience can succeed with a dividend growth (or value investing) strategy over the long term. With that in mind, I’m pleased to share this guest post from Dividend…
Read MoreAre Your Elderly Parents Easy Targets For Financial Scammers?
I was visiting my parents at the retirement home and prominently displayed on the elevator was a sign warning the residents not to give out personal information on the phone to people claiming to be from the bank, credit card company, or the government. I find it bizarre that the same old scams keep cropping…
Read MoreProjecting Investment Returns And Inflation
Earlier this year, the Financial Planning Standards Council (FPSC) updated the numbers it uses for projected investment returns and inflation. Financial planners use these numbers as guidelines when projecting retirement needs and income for their clients. The FPSC’s latest guidelines for 2015 peg annual inflation at 2 percent and make the following assumptions for investments…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Back From Vacation Edition
We spent 10 days on vacation in the Okanagan Valley. The trip was fantastic – our kids loved everything, from visits to Kangaroo Creek Farm and Atlantis Waterslides, to the lazy days on the beach and in the pool, and my wife and I enjoyed several wine tours and one awesome child-free day (thanks to my…
Read MoreBoomer Women In Retirement
Back in the 1960’s, before the boomers began to embark on their jobs and careers, the Canadian workforce was almost 80% male. By 1976 however, it was 37% female and the percentage has been climbing steadily ever since. The boomer generation is the first to include a significant proportion of women who have spent most…
Read MoreAre Target Date Mutual Funds Right For You?
Target date mutual funds – also known as age-based funds or life-cycle funds – are low maintenance, retirement plan products that operate under as asset allocation formula, which adjusts itself as it gets closer to the year you will retire. You may be familiar with the concept if your employer pension plan participates in one…
Read MoreHow This Unconventional Pairing Can Save You Money On Your Investments
The financial services industry would have you believe that individual investors don’t want to pay upfront for investment advice – in fact, the industry claims that investors prefer to pay for financial advice through fees that are part of their mutual funds. But we all know that mutual funds in Canada cost too much and…
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Another Rate Cut Edition
The Bank of Canada cut interest rates again this week – putting its key overnight rate at 0.50 percent – amid talk of weak economic growth and fear of a recession. While not great news for the Canadian economy and our falling loonie, the move is welcome for those like me who have variable rate…
Read MoreAmazon’s #PrimeDayFail
Amazon held a one-day sale Wednesday that was billed to be bigger than Black Friday. It was not. On Prime Day, the online behemoth offered a smattering of deals to customers who had purchased its $79 annual Prime membership, a service which gives members free two-day shipping on most items, plus cloud storage for photos…
Read MoreThe Real Cost Of Living
We shop at Costco about once a month or so. It’s about a 40-minute drive across the bridge and into Kelowna. One day, after we returned from our shopping trip, I noticed that we had been charged twice for one of our purchases – $18.99. The thought of going back over the bridge in rush…
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